New Year, New You – resolving to catch up with the classics #NewYearNewYou

16/01/2017

As a kid I just didn’t really watch films. I’m not totally sure why though. Maybe it was because we didn’t really go out to the cinema much. Or maybe it was because there were no DVD players or VHS recorders, so the only films you watched at home were when they were on the TV. Whatever the reason though, now I’m an adult I do feel that there are massive massive gaps in my film education. When conversations come round to films I often find myself making excuses, or even just staying quiet as I simply haven’t seen what everyone else is talking about, or in some cases I’ve not even heard of the film.

I’m not really one for making New Year’s resolutions, but I am in favour of setting myself challenges for the year ahead, and that’s exactly what I’ve done for 2017. As well as ones about wanting run a certain distance over the year and the standard thing about losing weight, I’m also trying to broaden my horizons somewhat by setting myself challenges relating to films and books.

The aim as it stands at the moment is to read 30 books in 2017 and to see 52 films. When I type that it seems an awful lot, but I think it’s achievable. What I’m really trying to do though is make those books and films count. To read and watch things that I’ve been meaning to do for years. So when it comes to films there are some absolute classic films that I really, really ought to tick off my list.

The five that I’m planning to tick off quite soon are:

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

The Color Purple

Gone With the Wind

Dial M For Murder

The Towering Inferno

I’m almost ashamed to say that I’ve never seen any of these. I’ve certainly heard of them all and have always meant to watch them, but somehow it’s just never happened. Until now.

How have I never sat down to watch Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh in the Academy Award winning Gone with the Wind? Isn’t it just a film that everyone has watched? And it must have been on TV a million and one times. Or maybe I’m not alone in being behind? So many people over the years have told me that I need to see The Color Purple (and the film debut of both Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey) and it’s a period of American history that I’ve read about before, but never seen on the screen. I think I know much of the story of Benjamin Button, and I’ve even seen clips from the film, but again never seen Brad Pitt act it all out. Paul Newman and Steve McQueen star in the disaster movie The Towering Inferno which was the highest grossing movie of 1974 yet another on my list of having not seen. I’m really rather excited about seeing the two of them together in it.

Finally on the list is Dial M for Murder, but if I’m honest this is probably the film I’m most looking forward to watching. I love crime and detective fiction, films and dramas and (embarrassingly) I’d probably struggle to tell you which Hitchcock films I’ve seen already.

So that’s my plan. To spend my spare time this year watching these classic films (and 47 other films!) whilst crocheting like a demon to get through all the various crochet projects that I’ve also set myself targets for in 2017. It’s funny how setting targets and being able to tick things off lists is what motivates me, but if it helps fill in the blanks in my film educations then so be it!

Win these classic films

Would you like a chance to win these five classic films on DVD? If so then head over to my twitter account where you can do just that…

Terms and Conditions

The prize is to win these following five films on DVD:

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

The Color Purple

Gone With the Wind

Dial M For Murder

The Towering Inferno

To be in with a chance of winning you must follow BeingMrsC on twitter and re-tweet this pinned tweet on BeingMrsC’s account by 12 noon on Wednesday 25 January 2017. The winner will be chosen randomly from all RTs and will be contacted via twitter. They will then need to follow BeingMrsC to be able to send me their postal address via DM. If the winner has not responded within 5 days another winner will be chosen.

The prize will be sent out by Fetch Publicity, not Being Mrs C.

The competition is open to UK residents only.

Good Luck!

Disclaimer: I was sent the five films on DVD that are featured in this post.